For entrepreneurs from Greater China who are considering Hong Kong as a base for assets and family arrangements, a common situation is that the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES) and the establishment of a Hong Kong single family office (SFO) are handled by two groups of firms that do not speak to each other. Under the current policy framework, the HK$30 million of qualifying New CIES investment may, where the relevant conditions are met, be held and operated inside a family-owned investment holding vehicle (FIHV) that is wholly owned by the family. Whether family members obtain residence, and whether investment returns may be reported at a 0% profits-tax rate, still depends on meeting the rules of the Immigration Department, InvestHK and the Inland Revenue Department, and on work by licensed or otherwise qualified professional advisers. Setting up an architecture does not, by itself, confer both residence and a tax concession at the same time.
1. Core policy parameters: the Hong Kong family-office tax concession versus New CIES
| Dimension | Hong Kong single family office tax concession (FIHV Tax Concession) | New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES) | ECG coordination point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governing rules and authorities | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions for Family-owned Investment Holding Vehicles) Ordinance 2023 / Inland Revenue Department (IRD) | Immigration Department and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) | The family usually needs to meet the IRD's substance requirements and the Immigration Department's investment-maintenance rules at the same time. |
| Minimum asset / investment threshold | HK$240 million in net specified assets | HK$30 million (including HK$27 million in permissible financial assets/real estate plus HK$3 million in the CIES portfolio) | The HK$27 million of New CIES financial assets may, where the conditions are met, be counted toward the family office's HK$240 million asset pool. |
| Family ownership requirement | Family members in aggregate must hold at least 95% of the beneficial interest in the FIHV and the single family office (75% if a charitable institution is involved) | The applicant may hold the investment assets through a wholly owned eligible private company (that is, an FIHV connected to the family-office architecture) | Shareholder registers and family-trust beneficiary structures should be locked in at the design stage, to avoid stamp duty from a later reorganisation. |
| Hong Kong substance requirement | At least HK$2 million of operating expenditure incurred in Hong Kong each year, and at least two qualified full-time employees | No mandatory employee requirement, but if assets are held through a family holding vehicle, that vehicle must be managed by a Hong Kong single family office | A family member with suitable qualifications who is ordinarily in Hong Kong may be assessed for a concurrent senior role in the family office, so that operating substance and residence ties can be considered together. |
| Core intended outcome | Qualifying transactions and incidental transactions may be reported at a 0% Hong Kong profits-tax rate (self-assessed; no prior approval required) | The applicant, spouse and unmarried dependent children under 18 may be permitted to stay in Hong Kong, and may apply for permanent resident status or unconditional stay after seven years | Even if, after seven years, Mainland business commitments mean the 'ordinary residence' test for permanent residence is not met, New CIES may still be unconditionally renewed, and an application for unconditional stay may be made. |
2. Four coordination steps commonly used when a family establishes a Hong Kong base
- Stage one: clarify family objectives and the asset base. Before capital is committed, the family should clarify the principal applicant (the founder or a spouse), the ages and education timing of accompanying children, a compliant path for moving onshore and offshore funds, and the mix, within the HK$240 million asset pool, of traditional financial assets, non-residential and residential property (noting the New CIES cap on counting real estate) and virtual assets.
- Stage two: put the legal and tax architecture in place. Together with a cross-border tax adviser and trust counsel, a Hong Kong single family office (SFO, the management company) and a family investment holding vehicle (FIHV, the asset-holding company) are established, and an offshore family trust (for example in Jersey, the Cayman Islands or Hong Kong) may be considered at the top of the structure if succession needs require it. Legal and tax documents are issued by appropriately qualified professional advisers.
- Stage three: open accounts with licensed institutions, inject assets and file New CIES. ECG coordinates the opening of dedicated accounts with a Hong Kong licensed private bank or a Type 1/4/9 licensed firm, the allocation of HK$30 million of New CIES-qualifying assets, the issue of a net-asset review report by a practising accountant for InvestHK verification, and the start of dependant-visa and Hong Kong school mid-year entry applications for the family. Account opening, investment allocation, visas and school places are reviewed respectively by the licensed institution, the Immigration Department, InvestHK and the school. Planning or submitting materials does not constitute approval or an offer.
- Stage four: annual compliance review, tax filing and renewal preparation. Each year the family should review evidence of the SFO's HK$2 million of Hong Kong expenditure, records that two full-time qualified employees remain in post, and changes in the New CIES portfolio, so that gaps can be found before tax filings and visa renewals. Whether tax-concession status can be maintained, or a renewal granted, is decided by the Inland Revenue Department and the Immigration Department.
Compliance note: ECG Family Office is responsible for clarifying the family's needs and coordinating the overall route. Tax, legal, trust establishment, immigration filings and regulated investment advice in Hong Kong are carried out together with accounting firms, law firms and SFC-licensed institutions that hold the appropriate licences and qualifications. ECG does not itself hold those licences, does not administer approvals, and does not promise identity, tax or investment outcomes.
對考慮把香港作為資產與家族安排支點的大中華區企業家來說，一個常見情況是：把「新資本投資者入境計劃（New CIES）」和「設立香港單一家族辦公室（SFO）」交給兩批互不溝通的機構分開處理。按現行政策框架，New CIES 項下的 3,000 萬港元合資格投資，在符合相關條件時，可放入由家族全資擁有的「合資格家族投資控權工具（FIHV）」中持有與運作。家屬能否取得居留、投資收益能否按 0% 利得稅申報，仍須分別符合入境處、投資推廣署及稅務局的規定，並由持牌或合資格專業顧問處理，並非設立架構即可同時獲得身份與稅務寬減。
一、 核心政策參數對比：香港家辦稅務寬減 vs. 新資本投資者入境計劃（New CIES）
| 核心維度 | 香港單一家族辦公室稅務寬減制度 (FIHV Tax Concession) | 新資本投資者入境計劃 (New CIES) | ECG 跨界協同關鍵點 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 核心法規與監管機構 | 《2023年稅務（修訂）（家族投資控權工具的稅務寬減）條例》 / 香港稅務局 (IRD) | 香港入境事務處 (Immigration Department) & 投資推廣署 (InvestHK) | 需同步滿足稅務局的「實質活動要求」與入境處的「投資維持規定」 |
| 最低資產 / 投資門檻 | 2.4 億港元（合資格指明資產淨值） | 3,000 萬港元（包括 2,700 萬港元獲許金融資產/房地產 + 300 萬港元資本投資者入境計劃投資組合） | New CIES 的 2,700 萬港元金融資產可直接計入家辦 2.4 億港元資產池中 |
| 家族持股比例要求 | 家族成員合計持有 FIHV 及單一家族辦公室（SFO）至少 95% 實益權益（若涉及慈善機構可為 75%） | 申請人可透過全資擁有的合資格私人公司（即與家辦架構銜接的 FIHV）持有投資資產 | 架構設計初期即需鎖定股東名冊與家族信託受益人結構，避免二次重組產生印花稅 |
| 香港本地實質營運要求 | 每年在港產生至少 200 萬港元營業開支，並僱用至少 2 名合資格全職僱員 | 無強制僱員要求，但若透過家族控權工具持有，該工具須由香港單一家族辦公室管理 | 家族成員若具備相應資歷並常駐香港，可評估兼任家辦高管以同時滿足營運與居留聯繫 |
| 核心收益 | 合資格交易及附帶交易享有 0% 香港利得稅（無須預先審批，自我評估申報） | 申請人、配偶及 18 歲以下未婚受養子女獲准留港，滿 7 年可申請香港永久性居民或無條件限制逗留 | 即使 7 年後因內地業務未能滿足「通常居住」轉永居，New CIES 亦可無條件續期並申請無條件逗留 |
二、 家族在港落地時常見的四個協調步驟
- 第一階段：釐清家族目標與資產底盤 在動用資金前，先釐清主申請人（創辦人或配偶）、隨行子女年齡與升學時間窗、境內外資金出境的合規路徑，以及 2.4 億港元資產池中傳統金融資產、非住宅/住宅物業（注意 New CIES 房地產計入上限）及虛擬資產的比例。
- 第二階段：搭建法律與稅務架構 聯同跨境稅務師與信託律師，在香港設立「單一家族辦公室（SFO，管理公司）」與「家族投資控權工具（FIHV，資產持有公司）」，並視家族傳承需要，在頂層考慮設立離岸家族信託（如澤西島、開曼或香港本地信託）。法律與稅務文件由具備相應資格的專業顧問出具。
- 第三階段：持牌機構開戶、注入資產並申報 New CIES 協調香港持牌私人銀行或第 1/4/9 號牌金融機構開立專戶，完成 3,000 萬港元 New CIES 合資格資產配置，由執業會計師出具淨資產審查報告並遞交投資推廣署（InvestHK）核實，同時啟動全家受養人簽證與子女香港學校插班申請。開戶、投資配置、簽證與插班結果分別由持牌機構、入境處、投資推廣署及學校審核，規劃或遞交材料並不構成獲批或錄取。
- 第四階段：年度合規檢視、稅務申報與續簽準備 每年定期檢視 SFO 的 200 萬港元在港開支憑證、2 名全職專業人員在職記錄，以及 New CIES 投資組合的變動，以便在稅務申報和續簽前及早發現缺口。能否維持稅務寬減資格或獲准續簽，以稅務局及入境處的審核為準。
合規聲明：ECG Family Office 負責家族需求梳理與整體路線協調；上述涉及香港稅務、法律、信託設立、移民申報及受規管投資建議，均協同具備相應牌照與資格的會計師事務所、律師行及香港證監會持牌機構執行。ECG 不獨自持牌，亦不包辦審批，也不對身份、稅務或投資結果作出承諾。
This article is educational and informational. It does not constitute immigration, legal, tax, education-admission or investment advice, and it does not promise any official outcome.
References: New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme Office; Inland Revenue Department, tax concessions for family-owned investment holding vehicles